cannot figure out access/login issue

[Guest]

I cannot for the life of me figure out why my desktop is not able to share a
folder in my laptop across a wired network. I have the laptop seemingly
configured exactly like the old one that I had working two weeks ago.

I asked this forum a days ago for help, and got every link known about
networking. If anyone is well skilled at this, and has a few iterations of
dialogues to try to help me pinpoint a few key areas I might be missing,
please help. Reading more about the different ways you can set up a network
will not help me, and I am desperate to get my files synched up.

Basic problem is that the desktop can find the laptop on the home network,
but gives me a default login for "guest" (although the guest is turned off on
the laptop, and I believe was before on the other setup), and I can neither
change who to login as (greyed out), nor enter a password (not that I even
know what the non-functioning guest account's password is). Also, when I
TURN ON the guest account on the laptop, then the desktop can no longer find
the laptop at all. Finally, per a suggestion from someone that it was my
firewall or security software, I've uninstalled the security software, and
turned off windows firewall.

So I don't know WHAT to do anymore. HELP!
Thx.

 

[BILL]

I have had similar things happen to me.
Try going into
Win Explorer - Tools - Folder options - View and at the bottom
set the "Simple file sharing" off on both machines. If it is already off
then try setting it ON on both machines.
Remember when you change this you must unshare everything and then re share.

Bill Wilkie

 

[Guest]

Make sure that File and Printer Sharing is checked off for your Network
Adapter. Also make sure that File and Printer Sharing is allowed in the
Exceptions tab of the Windows Firewall control panel if either (or both)
computers have XP SP2.

Share a folder and give Read access permission to the desktop by using the
object name "DESKTOP-COMPUTER-NAME\USERNAME" where USERNAME is the name of
the logged in user on the desktop that you want to have access to the laptop.

Go to Start > Run and type in

\\LAPTOP-COMPUTER-NAME\SHARE_NAME$

Click on OK and see if you can see the files inside this shared folder. If
you can, then we'll work on mapping it automatically later.

 

[Guest]

thanks so much. I'm at the point where at least the attempt to get into the
laptop is not giving me a grey box, but it still asks me to login, and the
login is not letting me in. I will admit that out of all you listed, I found
the things, but when I tried to enter the permission for the desktop name, it
said it could not find the machine. Other than that step, I got the other
things done. But still stuck. As for mapping, no need. I have and probably
will continue to simply have a shortcut on my desktop's desktop, to the
shared folder.

Again, thanks for helping out so far.